Ratings News - 3rd February 2011

Prime-Time Metered Market Wednesday Ratings:
Hefty Victory for Fox, but Human Target Squanders Idol Lead-in Support

Wednesday 2/02/11
Note: Four markets are excluded from the following averages: Dallas, Dayton, Austin and Honolulu.

HH
Rtg/Shr
Fox 10.9/16
CBS 5.9/ 9
NBC 4.9/ 8
ABC 4.5/ 7
CW 0.8/ 1

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-Percent Change from the Year-Ago Evening (Wednesday, 2/03/10):
NBC: +36, Fox: +18, CW: no change, ABC: - 2, CBS: -33

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-Yesterday’s Winners:
American Idol (Fox), Criminal Minds R (CBS), Modern Family R (ABC), Blue Bloods (CBS)

-Yesterday’s Losers (excluding repeats):
Live to Dance (CBS), Minute to Win It – 8 p.m. (NBC), Cougar Town (ABC), Off the Map (ABC)

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-Ratings Breakdown:
Fox stood well above the Wednesday competition thanks to still killer American Idol. But not even the support of Idol could push relocated 9 p.m. occupant Human Target past a repeat of CBS’ competing Criminal Minds in the overnights. A one-hour edition of American Idol opened the evening for Fox with a hefty 15.8 rating/24 share at 8 p.m., which beat the four competing networks combined by 28 percent. That led into Human Target, which dipped to second overall in the 9 p.m. hour with a 5.9/10. Comparably, retention for Human Target out of the 8:30 p.m. portion of American Idol (16.4/24) was only 36 percent.

Although Human Target could be poised for time period victory among adults 18-49, a repeat of aforementioned Criminal Minds won the 9 p.m. hour with a 6.6/10.

Earlier in the evening on CBS, Paula Abdul on Live to Dance cannot compete with her old show, with a distant third-place 3.8/ 6 at 8 p.m. At 10 p.m. on the Eye net, week three of the four-week Blue Bloods Wednesday 10 p.m. test won the time period with a 7.5/12. Comparably, Blue Bloods built from the 9:30 p.m. portion of the Criminal Minds encore (6.7/10) by 12 percent. As a reminder, upcoming Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior moves into the Wednesday 10 p.m. hour (out of its parent series) on Feb. 16. Blue Bloods returns to Friday at 10 p.m. on Feb. 11.

Over at NBC, Minute to Win It stumbled opposite American Idol at 8 p.m., with a fourth-place 3.3/ 5 in the overnights. But a 9 p.m. installment of the game show (minus the Idol competition) perked up to a still fourth-place 5.3/ 8 at 9 p.m. That led into veteran Law & Order: SVU at a second-place 6.1/10 at 10 p.m. Although SVU will likely beat CBS’ Blue Bloods among adults 18-49, it trailed the Tom Selleck crime solver by 15 percent in the overnights.

ABC populated the 8-9:30 p.m. block with repeats of two episodes of underrated The Middle (8 p.m. - #2, 4.6/ 7; 8:30 p.m. - #2, 4.3/ 6) and Modern Family (#3: 6.1/ 9), which deserves positive mention for building by 42 percent from the 8:30 p.m. encore edition of The Middle. But an original installment of hiatus-bound (but already renewed) Cougar Town dipped to fourth, with a 4.7/ 7 in the overnights at 9:30 p.m. And recently introduced Shonda Rhimes drama Off the Map remains a bust, with a last-place 3.8/ 6 at 10 p.m. The last thing ABC needed was another edition of soapy Grey’s Anatomy set in the jungle.

As a reminder, upcoming ABC Matthew Perry sitcom Mr. Sunshine steps into the Wednesday 9:30 p.m. time period (out of Modern Family) next Wednesday. Let’s just hope that subsequent episodes are better than the lackluster pilot.

Last, and very least, were repeats of Smallville (#5: 0.9/ 1) and compatible Supernatural (#5: 0.8/ 1) on The CW, which air in originals tomorrow evening.

Source: Nielsen Media Research data (R = repeat)

Source: pifeedback